While the main cabin house is getting it’s makeover, the navigation station is also getting a total renovation. Those of you who have sailed with us for a while will remember Mouse, a long-time crew member who has, over the years, become a skilled carpenter and shipwright. He’s back in school for naval architecture and on the weekends we get his good, smart self in our shop. This beautiful nav. station will grace our cabin house this summer! Capt. will get to look at all summer long as he stands back by the wheel. Here’s some photos of the progress. We’ll post when it’s all on board and installed too.

It started with a discussion about re-caulking the main cabin house. It journeyed past replacing some cabin planks and lots of layers of varnish. It ended with a completely new main cabin house. Just like replacing a stove in a house which turns into entire kitchen renovation. Exactly like that.

Every year we choose a different area of the Riggin upon which to focus. That’s just how owning a schooner built in 1927 goes. This year, the main cabin house got our attention and we had a number of crew members working on the project. Here are some process photos from start to almost finish. And an hilarious short clip of the guys having fun. We aren’t quite to the final coat of paint or the re-installation of the skylight or nav. station but we’ll post those when that happens shortly.

Details in the galley. Details on deck. Details in the cabins. Some years we’ve got big projects which cause the little projects to be relegated to the bottom of the usually long list. We’ve had a couple of those winters in a row, so things like peapod repair, settee cushions, and new navigation stations have taken a back seat to the big stuff that most people don’t see, but is part of being good stewards of a National Historic Landmark. These would be things like planking and framing, iron work, rig replacement, new sails, etc. When these big projects are part of our budget in a year, they matter. It just means that the other (usually more visible things) need to take their turn and wait a little longer. This is the year of details.

Among the many details being tended to over the course of this winter are the cabins. The little details in the cabins which make your home for a week (or 4-days) nicer, a little more special. This year all of the cabins are getting a going over – new paint, new varnish… new sink skirts.

In cabins 1 to 4, these beautiful skirts hide the plumbing to the sinks and add to the charm of the cabins. This beautiful craftsmanship was done by Tyler King with an assist by Chloe Finger.

While the barn is abuzz with activity and woodworking, there are other folks who are also engaged and actively planning for another fantastic summer on the water with the Riggin. E (Elizabeth) is taking reservations at a rapid pace. And Annie is, among other things, sewing. Curtains, settee cushions, deck cushions, engine box covers, and so on. The list of projects is getting longer by the day!

What began as a “simple” slipcover for the house turned into the list above, which keeps getting additions by the second as Annie gets more comfortable with the work. Annie is lucky enough to have a friend with several industrial sewing machines and she’s always offered to teach Annie how to use them. This is that winter. When Annie isn’t on a horse, or cooking in the kitchen, she can these days be found behind the needle of a sewing machine.

And a powerful one at that. These machines are not your grandmother’s Singer, although they are just as dependable. They are finger-eating, strong-engined machines for which Annie has found some serious respect. They can sew through canvas, sail material, or 4 layers of upholstery material without straining. Magic and terror all wrapped up in one tidy package.

The barn is abuzz with winter projects. While Louis and Chives prep and sand and scrape and fill, Capt. is busy repairing the peapod. A couple of summers ago she received some structural damage to her mid-section and while she has held up fairly well under the strain, it was time to address her needs.

We carry this sweet little row boat on our davits and lower her all summer long for those who want to do a little harbor exploring or catch a bit of exercise to work off Annie’s meals, so she’s pretty important to our summer operations. In addition, she’s a Jimmy Steele design, one of the many built by the famous boat builder. We are lucky to have such a special little vessel and we are happy to be taking good care of her.

Here’s a little photo journal of the work and care she’s receiving.

Sistering a couple of frames and shoring up some planking

Hey, is that the home stove? And the teapot? Capt. is using both to steam a couple of frames.

Don’t steam the cookbooks! Ahhhh!

Gluing and clamping everything together

Now we wait

The final product – strong and beautiful

And then we add some pretty hardware so she can take us on many more rows this summer.

While the weather outside fluctuates between spring and the arctic, inside the barn, all is toasty and warm… and busy! Louis and Chives, long-timeRiggin crew, are both ‘on deck’ so to speak and in the barn full-time. Right now, much of their work is about making dust as they sand and scrape all of the surfaces in preparation for their shiny coats.

These two goons working away on the barrels – scrape, scrape, scrape

Oars and Captains wheel – gonna be shiny soon!

Hatch covers sanded and ready for the final varnish and paint coats

The yawl boat engine removed and transmission ready for a rebuild and reinstall

Spars for Iolaire getting touch ups and undercoats before the final coat goes on